Painting with water colours

James Paterson shows you how to create vibrant abstract shapes over water by painting with light, and how to use Photoshop for artistic finish

There are lots of reasons to go to the beach, but flinging around a disco light in the dark is probably among the more unusual pastimes. However, while it might get you a few funny looks, it can lead to wonderfully vibrant photos with a difference. In this project we’ll look at how to create long-exposure light paintings with a combination of shooting and Photoshop skills. This begins with an after-dark shoot, during which we swing a torch or other suitable light source around to create swirling patterns. The beach setting isn’t essential, it can be done in your back garden, a dark room or any dim setting. But to add an extra sparkle to our painting we can splash around in the shallows with our colourful light. This way, the colourful light source creates vibrant reflections in the water.

When swirling a torch around in the dark over the course of a 3-second exposure it can be tricky to predict how the finished light painting will turn out, especially if you have a face full of sea water. But one of the great things about light painting is how easy it is to combine several shots into one eye-catching whole with simple layer blending skills in Photoshop. And if we want to take it further, we can warp and reshape the colourful flowing lines. We’ve chosen to create an abstract water lily flower here, but you can use the same skills to make any shape you choose.

ON LOCATION LIGHT PAINTING AT THE BEACH
Swing and splash a torch in the shallows after dark for colourful light trails

01 SHOOT AT THE BEACH